Facing investigation by the FTC on privacy grounds, Facebook has hired what The Register is calling "a big legal gun" to fight back against regulators' increasing interest in its business. Who is Facebook's ace in the hole? None other than Tim Muris, the ex-boss of the Federal Trade Commission. Just last week, Muris was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the FTC. Now, The Register is presuming he will "help see off complaints" from the likes of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. According to The Register, "antitrust and privacy investigations [are] already underway" against Facebook. Canadian regulators …

Facebook has confirmed its highly-anticipated location-based "check-in" feature, which, according to TechCrunch, "is apparently due to launch shortly if the code found on their touch.facebook.com site is any indication." Yet, according to a statement from Facebook: "There are currently no plans to add marketing partners to this product ... We may consider working with marketers to enhance the experience in the future, but have no plans to do so at launch." This statement is actually in line with reports last week in AdAge that Facebook would eventually team up with some big brands to support the new …

Twitter just confirmed the existence of a bug that can force one user to follow another user on the popular microblogging service. Yep, the bug is "unfortunately" real, Twitter spokesman Sean Garrett told CNet, adding: "We're focused on fixing it now and hope to know a lot more about the specifics once that's done." Presently, it's not clear how long the bug had been around or whether it could potentially give Twitter users access to the contents of "protected" accounts in which all tweets are private. "The bug appears to have originally been noticed by a Turkish …

The New Yorker devotes over 4,000 words to Web sensation Chatroulette -- a video chat forum that randomly connects users with strangers -- and its young Russian founder Andrey Ternovskiy. The magazine chronicles a broad spectrum of potential encounters from "copulating couples, masturbators, a man who has hanged himself (it's fake)," to "the video of the dancing banana, crudely drawn on lined paper, exhorting people to 'Dance or gtfo!' (Dance or get the fuck out.)" The New Yorker notes: "Hundreds of articles and blog posts have asked whether Chatroulette is a fad or a good investment, and …

Consider it a conceptual victory of open over closed networks, or merely the result of Google's size, but Android phones are now outselling the iPhone, according to new data from NPD Group. The consumer research firm reports that U.S. sales of smartphones using Google's mobile operating system surpassed Apple in the first three months of this year. As such, Android captured a 28% market share, while Apple claimed 21% of the market. (BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion still leads the market with a 36% share.) Writes Mashable: "The news follows a report …

By the start of the fall season, CBS plans to make its full slate of Web video -- i.e., everything you find on CBS.com -- available to iPad users. So says Anthony Soohoo, SVP and general manager of CBS Interactive, according to NewTeeVee. The move represents an about-face for CBS, according to the blog. "Unlike ABC, which built an iPad app to deliver its full-length episodes and promotional clips on the device, CBS decided to focus on delivering video through its website, CBS.com," it writes. Since the iPad doesn't support Adobe's Flash media play, CBS has created a dedicated a …

This could get nasty. To accompany its new "like" button, Facebook is now allowing users to "unlike" their favorite Facebook Pages through embedded fan box widgets. "While many users have actually requested that Facebook add a full functioning 'Dislike' feature to express negative sentiment, this feature is simply an easier way to not be a fan of existing Facebook Pages that you like," All Facebook reports. "Why Facebook would add the unlike button is unknown but many Facebook Page owners have been complaining to us about the feature this morning." Of course they are. Why would publishers, of any shape …

Business Insider doesn't necessarily believe that Facebook's forthcoming "check-in" feature means curtains for existing location-based networks like Foursquare, Loopt, and Gowalla. "We think Facebook won't try to set itself up as an alternative to these services, but rather as an integral part of them," it writes. "Location data from all of them will end up on Facebook, making it the primary owner of where you are ... But Facebook won't compete directly with all of the value that these services add to that data." With regard to Facebook's far-reaching Open Graph initiative, Business Insider believes that the top social net …

Microsoft's Bing just debuted social network integration in its Shopping section, which lets shoppers "announce" their purchase plans to friends on Facebook, Twitter and email, Venture Beat reports. It's all "in hopes of getting feedback from friends on whether to buy or not," it writes. Furthermore, "the implementation is simple, which means it works and isn't confusing." Additionally, for some items in Bing Shopping, users now have access to additional buttons for Facebook, Twitter, and email. The financial agreement between Microsoft, Facebook and participating advertisers is not clear at the moment. In a blog post, Bing managers Lawrence Lam and …

What happens when you deactivate your Facebook account? Petrified by the prospect of social exile and cultural alienation, few people know. ReadWriteWeb tells the tale of one man who came pretty close after his Facebook life had an "adverse emotional impact" on his real life. The blog has even posted a screenshot of what the man saw after clicking the (gasp!) "deactivate my account" link on his account page. The page asks, "Are you sure you want to deactivate your account?" adding, "Your 972 friends will no long be able to keep in touch with you." Aghast, ReadWriteWeb writes: "How …